'Hogan's Heroes': Inside Bob Crane's Tragically Unsolved Death

Bob Crane began his career as a radio personality in the 1950s, working at various radio stations across the United States. He was later offered a role in a TV series which led to his popular role in ‘Hogan’s Heroes.’

Best known for his role as “Colonel Robert Hogan” on the popular 1960s television series ‘Hogan's Heroes,’ he died under tragic and mysterious circumstances on June 29, 1978. His death remains one of Hollywood's unsolved mysteries.

On that fateful day, Crane was discovered bludgeoned to death in his Scottsdale, Arizona apartment. He was 49 years old. The murder weapon, later identified as a camera tripod, was found at the crime scene. Crane's body showed signs of severe head injuries, and investigators concluded that he had been killed in a brutal assault.

Bob Crane had been staying in Scottsdale while performing in a local dinner theater production of the play ‘Beginner's Luck.’ The night before his death, he had dinner with a friend, John Carpenter, who was also a video technician. The two were known to share an interest in video technology and had collaborated on various projects.

The investigation into Crane's murder revealed a complex and controversial aspect of his personal life. Crane was an avid amateur videographer, and he often filmed his sexual encounters. The authorities discovered a vast collection of explicit videotapes and photographs in his apartment, leading to speculation that his murder might be connected to his involvement in the world of adult entertainment.

Robert Crane, son of Bob Crane, wrote a book on his father’s life and his “love” for women. In this book he also adds information that could lead to a suspect, talking about a friend of his father. “He was two weeks shy of 50. He says, 'I am making changes. I'm divorcing Patti.' He wanted to lose people like John Carpenter, who had become a pain in the butt. He wanted a clean slate.”

However, Carpenter did not accept this decision and, according to Robert, followed Bob Crane to Arizona. “They had a breakup, of sorts. Carpenter lost it. He was being rejected, he was being spurned like a lover. There are eyewitnesses that night at a club in Scottsdale that said they had an argument, John and my dad." Bob Crane was found dead hours later.

This led many, including prosecutors to set John Carpenter as the primary suspect in Crane's murder. One of the detectives on the case was Barry Vassall, who according to ‘Entertainment Weekly’ said, “At the scene, there was blood everywhere. There were some traces of blood on the back of the exit door, the front door, the doorknob. There was a red stain on the curtain. We found blood in [Carpenter's] rental car and on the passenger door. It was Crane's blood type. Nobody else who handled that car had the same blood type as Crane. It was type B blood, all of it.”

This was not enough evidence, however, and the case was dropped until 1992, when Jim Raines discovered a photo that showed brain tissue in Carpenter’s car which eventually led to his arrest and charge with Crane's murder. However, the trial ended in acquittal due to a lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime, he was released in 1994, and the case remains officially unsolved.

The circumstances surrounding Bob Crane's death continue to generate interest and debate, with theories ranging from a crime of passion to a targeted hit related to his involvement in the underground world of amateur pornography. The lack of conclusive evidence and the passage of time have left the case shrouded in mystery, making it one of Hollywood's enduring unsolved crimes.